Birthday Blues
by xLaurenmx
Summary: Set before Kat and Alfie won a million pounds and headed off to Spain. Alfie's birthday arrived and while every year he doesn't make a fuss out of it, this year seems to be pretty different. Could Kat have possibly forgotten what day it was?
1. Chapter 1

Alfie woke up to the ringing alarm clock on his bedside table. He finally managed to open his eyes after the third time of hitting the snooze button. It's like he didn't want to wake up to another day. But that was it. This wasn't just any other day. This was the day he turned fifty-one. For some, birthdays are considered a blessing, celebrating another year on earth but for Alfie, this just simply meant he was getting older.

He lay on his back in the empty bed, staring at the ceiling contemplating about his life, when he was interrupted with Bert and Ernie's cries from downstairs and Kat shouting at Tommy to get him to finish his cereal. And that was all the motivation Alfie needed… the motivation to live another day for the family he loved with all his heart.

He decided to get out of bed and get dressed, and off downstairs he went. He knew the smile of his beautiful wife would cheer him up. Although, he did quite wonder… Kat always made a fuss when his birthday was coming up and Alfie was usually the one to tell her not to make a scene. But this time, she hadn't mentioned anything plus did not wake him up with a special breakfast in bed like she did every year. He tried not to over think, maybe she had a surprise downstairs.

"Morning!" Alfie smiled as he walked into the kitchen to see Kat seated at the table with Tommy and the twins by her side.

"Morning darlin'" Kat replied as she lifted her head up as Alfie leaned in for a kiss.

Alfie eyed the stove and notice there weren't any pans.

"So… no bacon and eggs today?" Alfie asked as he stood at the table, finding it weird having no birthday breakfast.

"No sorry, I woke up a bit late… and Tommy won't eat up and I'm still feedin' these two," Kat replied, feeding Ernie, "Stacey's on the stall already, and Nan went out to meet Fat Elvis so I have to take the kids at nursery myself," Kat ranted on.

Alfie turned round and put the kettle on. He couldn't believe she hadn't mentioned anything yet. Could it really be she forgot?

"Kat listen, Ian texted me this morning, he needs a bit of help at the restaurant for a day," Alfie said as he rested against the kitchen bench.

"Oh that's great! I hope he pays you good money… well… who am I kidding? This is Ian Beale, we're talking about!" Kat ranted on as she stood up.

"So you don't mind do ya?" Alfie asked again to test her.

"No of course not! We can't say no to a bit of extra cash, can we? I'm off darling… I'm already late as it is. See you later!" she said as she approached him and gave him a peck on the lips.

"See ya later…" Alfie uttered as Kat walked out of the kitchen with the kids.

Alfie still couldn't believe it. Not a word. She didn't even say happy birthday.

…

"Cheers darlin'" Kat told her customer before she wandered off.

"We've done pretty good this morning, didn't we?" Stacey asked Kat as she smiled.

"Very good!" Kat said as she pocketed the cash.

"Listen… it's Alfie's birthday today, ain't it?" Stacey jumped at the chance to ask her cousin, since they had no customers.

"Yeah, so?" Kat replied as she folded her arms, across her big black coat.

"Well… because he stopped by this morning on his way to Beale's… I think you were still at the nursery, and when I wished him a happy birthday, he said that I was the first one to tell him… you two alright?" Stacey explained.

"Course we are you daft cow! So was he bothered about it?" Kat leaned in, smiling.

"He seemed so yeah… what are you playing at?" Stacey asked confused.

"That's all part of the plan…" Kat said with a grin on her face.

"What plan? Kat you lost me…" Stacey gave up.

"Look it's midday and we haven't eaten anything yet… I'll explain to you over lunch .. come on…" Kat told Stacey as she took her money belt off, "Shrimpy… watch the stall for us, will ya? Cheers" and off they went for a girly chat at the café.

 _ **To be continued...**_


	2. chapter 2

"Kat you can't mess with him like that!" Stacey said as she took the last sip of her cup of tea, as they both sat at the table in the corner at the very end of the café.

"Stace, I didn't actually forget it, I'm just gonna make him think I did... It's only a bit of fun!" Kat replied.

Tina approached the table, "all done?"

"Yeah, cheers," Kat replied as Tina took hold of the empty plates and walked away. "Listen, you could watch the stall for the rest of the afternoon, could ya?" she told Stacey.

"What?! Where are you going?" Stacey asked surprised.

"I have to go to the Minute Mart to buy some stuff for the cake," Kat said as she stood up and put her coat on.

"What? You? Baking a cake?" Stacey asked her smiling as she put on hers.

"Yeah I wanna make it special," Kat replied, as they headed towards the door.

"It'll be something special alright," Stacey joked.

"I've had enough of you taking the mick," Kat said as she gave a sarcastic smile, "See you later," she said as she walked outside.

"Yeah no problem, I'll get these then shall I?" Stacey added sarcastically as she stood by the till, "Two English breakfasts and two teas please, Sonia," she turned to Sonia.

…

After taking too much time to decide which one Alfie would like, she finally choose a card off the shelf and put it in her carrier bag and approached the till.

"You're going to bake?" Shabnam asked Kat as she scanned away the items.

"Yeah I'm gonna make a birthday cake for Alfie… the biggest cake which says 'I love you'," Kat said with a smile, "but anyway he'll get the real treat later," she added with a giggle.

"okay TMI..." Shabnam uttered.

"Oh lighten up, Shabnam, don't tell me you haven't done it 'n all…" Kat said as she handed over the money.

"Yeah but I don't go on about it in public!" Shabnam handed over her change.

"Do me a favour!" Kat rolled her eyes and left the shop, heading home to get down baking.

…

"So you really think she forgot?" Ian Beale sat at the bar in his own restaurant, with Alfie behind it. It was past lunchtime so the whole place calmed down a little bit. Plus it was nearing Alfie's shift so all was good.

"She must have… I mean she let me sleep in, she didn't prepare any breakfast like usual… no cards… no best wishes… nothing. It just seems a bit weird that's all…" Alfie uttered as he cleaned a set of glasses.

"Alfie this is your wife you're talking about, you should know she's got something in store for you later," Ian tried to console his friend.

"I don't know… well I usually don't want to make a fuss out of it, so maybe this year she decided to quit trying," Alfie ranted on as he put the glasses in place, when his phone went off.

Alfie took out his phone to read the text, "It's from Kat," Alfie told Ian as he put the tea towel down.

"What did she say?" Ian asked curiously.

"She just said she's at The Vic, waiting for me," Alfie replied confused.

"Well there you go… you'll probably walk into a bar full of balloons and free drinks," Ian said with a smile, "Go on, get your coat and get your backside over there," Ian told Alfie as he walked around the bar and opened the till.

"Here you go," Ian told Alfie as he handed him the cash, "and I put in a little extra something since it's your special day,"

"oh, you the man!" Alfie said as he pulled him in a rough hug.

…

Meanwhile, Kat managed to get the cake done and headed off to the Vic. She let go of her mobile and put it on the bar, as she took a sip of wine.

"Just get him a lager please, Mick," Kat said.

"So you text him then?" Mick asked as he pulled a pint behind the bar.

"Yeah, but listen, he thinks I forgot his birthday, so don't mention anything when he gets here, yeah?" Kat told him, as she paid him.

"You don't worry about me," Mick said with a smile.

...

Alfie walked down Bridge Street, smiling. As he reached the front door, he tried to get himself ready for what he mind find inside.

He opened the door and to his astonishment... nothing. No balloons, no cheering... just everyone seated at tables, drinking and chatting away. Then he noticed Kat who was sat alone at the bar. There was nothing left to do, except for walking up to her and try to find out something.

 ** _To be continued..._**

 ** _All reviews are appreciated. Thank you x_**


	3. Chapter 3

"Get me another one please, Mick…" Alfie asked Mick behind the bar, as he started looking in his pocket for change.

"No I'll get that… and same again for me," Kat butted in.

"No I'm not gonna let you pay again… what's so special about today anyway?" Alfie added sarcastically, trying to squeeze something out of Kat.

"Well if you insist…" Kat smiled, playing along, "Cheers," she added when Mick placed the drinks in front of them, "So how was the day with Ian?" she turned to Alfie again.

"Yeah it was alright… I think he'll call me in for shifts on a regular basis," Alfie said before taking a sip of his pint.

"That's great, ain't it?!" Kat smiled, as she patted his thigh, both sat on bar stools.

"Yeah… it's… great…" Alfie uttered, "listen why don't we head home after we finish these? We could have something to eat and a quiet night in..."

"Yeah that's alright, it's not like we have anything else planned, do we?" Kat smiled at Alfie.

Alfie tried to smile back, even more confused than he was, earlier that day.

…

"By the way, thanks for picking the kids up, Stace," Kat said as she finished up her dinner and wiped her mouth.

"No problem," Stacey replied as she gave a little smile and looked Kat in the eye, knowing the real reason why Kat couldn't do that herself.

"Cheers Mo, that was lovely," Alfie said as he too, finished eating.

"Yeah, nice one Nan," Kat agreed, "didn't expect you to prepare anything… how was your day with Fat Elvis?"

Alfie poured himself a glass of water.

"It was fun… and active," Mo said as she stood up and took her empty plate to the sink.

Alfie choked on his sip.

"Nan!" Stacey blurted out.

"Why do I even go there?!" Kat said as she made a face.

"I've got a life too, you know, it's about time you lot started treating me with a little bit more respect!" Mo yelled as she stormed out of the kitchen and headed to the stairs.

Stacey couldn't help letting out a giggle, until she got a signal look from Kat.

"I'ma… I'm gonna lie down early, do you need anything else Kat?" Stacey understood the signal and tried to work her way out of the kitchen.

"Yeah it's alright, we'll manage down here," Kat replied, still seated.

"Goodnight then," Stacey said as she stood up and headed upstairs.

Kat immediately stood up and started clearing up the table and shoving everything in the sink. Alfie just sat there at the table, staring into space.

Kat turned round, "Alfie are you alright? You don't seem yourself today… is everything alright?" she played him.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine… it was just a long day that's all," Alfie replied, he wasn't sure he should mention anything.

Kat walked up to him.

"Are you that tired? Well we might as well have an early night yeah? Why don't you go upstairs, I'll lock up down here and I'll catch up with you, okay?" Kat said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Yeah alright," Alfie said quietly, and sort of smiled.

Kat smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek. Alfie stood up and headed to their bedroom upstairs.

…

But just as he reached the landing, he caught Stacey coming out of his and Kat's bedroom.

"Stace? What are you doing in there?" Alfie asked, as he made a face.

"Nothin'… um… Lily couldn't sleep and she doesn't like any of Tommy's toys, so I was looking through the rooms, maybe I'll find something else," Stacey made up a lie on the spot.

"Right… found anything?" Alfie asked her again.

"well no… too bad," Stacey uttered. In that instant one of the twins started crying.

"Oh I'll get it," Stacey said.

"No I will, you go and rest, yeah?" Alfie told Stacey, as he headed to the twins' room.

"Thanks," Stacey said with a smile. She waited for Alfie to walk into the twins' room and walked to the top of the stairs to see Kat at the other end, and gave her a thumbs up.

…

Alie settled the twins down and walked towards his bedroom. He opened the door and got quite the surprise when he closed the door and turned around. All he could see was his own bedroom with lit up candles and rose petals on the bed reading 'happy birthday'. Alfie couldn't help smiling at the sight.

The door behind him opened and there appeared Kat, wearing a gorgeous set of black lingerie and holding a small cake with a lit up candle in it.

"and you thought I forgot…" Kat said with a smile.

"Haha... is that for me? You made that?" Alfie asked her as she placed the cake on the bedside table.

"Yeah, I know it might not be good enough but I did try my best!" Kat said as she handed him a fork, "here, make a wish and dig in" she said before she let out a little giggle.

"I don't need to wish for anything," Alfie said as he blew out the candle and took a bite. He soon made a face.

"It's not good ain't it?" Kat's face fell, "I knew it… I'm useless," she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Well it's a bit um…" Alfie commented as he made a face.

"A bit what?" Kat asked back.

"Ha got ya! Come here," he told her as he picked her up and started tickling her and threw her on the bed. Kat couldn't help letting out the giggles.

…

Kat lay in Alfie's arms, amongst the ruffled bedding.

"It bothered you that I supposedly forgot about your day, didn't it?" Kat said, as she turned over and looked at him.

"Yeah but only a little, I knew something was up," Alfie smiled.

"I know you don't usually do birthdays," Kat said as she traced a finger upon his chest, "so I tried to come up with something to make you feel special… and this made you feel young again, didn't it?" she said with a giggle, before she leaned in for a kiss.

She added as they broke apart, "I don't care if you're fifty, fifty-one, or eighty years old… you've got the boys, and you've got me… and I ain't goin' anywhere because me and you … we're forever," Kat said with a smile.

"Kat and Alfie forever…" Alfie added, as he leaned in for another kiss, "Yep, I can see us now on southend pier, bumpin' our wheelchairs together and yelling at each other with no teeth," Alfie couldn't keep a straight face. Kat just burst out laughing.

"Oi keep it down you two!" Mo started banging on the other end of their bedroom door.

"Oops!" Alfie uttered, "well we won't be doing this when we're eighty…" Alfie said as he took hair out of Kat's eyes.

"We might as well make the most of it while we still can, aye?" Kat said as she leaned in, closer to his lips.

"You bet ya Mrs Moon," Alfie said, "I can't kiss you when we've got no teeth," mouthing the last phrase, as if he really had no teeth.

Kat just burst out giggling, "Shut up!" she said as they kissed.


End file.
